by Gary Mihoces, USA TODAY Sports

by Gary Mihoces, USA TODAY Sports

If you're a parent worried about concussions in youth sports â?? and not just football â?? you've got reason for concern, according to a 306-page report issued Wednesday that urged more research on younger athletes and establishment of a national system to monitor how often they are concussed.

The report was issued in Washington by the Committee of Sports-Related Concussions in Youth, affiliated with the non-profit, private National Academy of Sciences.

Notes the report: "Parents worry about choosing sports that are safe for their children to play, about finding the equipment that can best protect their children, and about when, if a child does receive a concussion, it will be safe for him or her to return to play or if it might be time to quit a much-loved sport entirely.''

Those parents won't find all the answers to those questions in the report. It is focused on raising the key questions.

"The findings of our report justify the concerns about sports concussions in young people," Robert Graham, chair of the committee, says in a news release. "However, there are numerous areas in which we need more and better data. Until we have that information, we urge parents, schools, athletic departments, and the public to examine carefully what we do know, as with any decision regarding risk, so they can make more informed decisions about young athletes playing sports.''

At a briefing in Washington, committee members stressed the need for more data and research.

"Constantly, we came to this place where there's just nothing about kids. â?¦ This has to hit home. We have to start doing better studies," said Arthur Maerlender, assistant professor of psychiatry at Dartmouth College.

The report is a summary of existing "available literature" on the topic youth sports concussions, in other words, what is believed to be known and what isn't. Among the findings:

- Numbers are scarce. "There is currently a lack of data to accurately estimate the incidence of sports-related concussions across a variety of sports and for youth. â?¦ Nevertheless, existing data suggest that sports-related concussions represent a significant public health concern.''

- Culture of resistance. The report finds failure to report concussion symptoms by athletes themselves isn't just an issue in pro sports. "In surveys, youth profess that the game and team are more important than their individual health and that they may play through a concussion to avoid letting down their teammates, coaches, school and parents."

- Equipment. The report says there is "limited evidence" that current helmet designs reduce risks of concussions." But it notes, "there is evidence that helmets reduce the risk of other injuries, such as skull fracture, and thus the use of properly fitted helmets should be promoted." The report says there is no evidence that mouth guards or face masks reduce risk of concussion but that they should be worn to prevent injuries to the eyes, face, mouth and teeth.

While the study focused on athletes ages 5-21, it does address some issues commonly associated with professional athletes. Those are issues on the minds of parents of young athletes, too.

The autopsied brains of former NFL players have shown evidence of the brain injury chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). It has been linked by some researchers to depression, dementia and Alzheimer's.

Might head injuries sustained in youth and high school sports also lead to CTE?

"Whether repetitive head impacts and multiple concussions sustained in youth lead to long-term neurogenerative diseases, such as (CTE) remains unclear," says the report. "Additional research is needed to determine whether CTE represents a unique disease entity and, if so, develop diagnostic criteria for it."

The report was done by two arms of the National Academy of Sciences: the Institute of Medicine and National Research Council.

The report was sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Education, Health Resources and Services Administration, the National Athletic Trainers Association Research and Education Foundation, the National Institutes of Health and the CDC Foundation (via a grant from the National Football League).

Here is what the committee recommends:

- The CDC should set a national surveillance system to determine the rate sports-related concussions among youth, and include data on protective equipment, causes and extent of the injuries.

- The National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense should support research to improve concussion diagnosis and create age-specific guidelines for managing concussions.

-- National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense should conduct studies on effects of concussion and repetitive head impacts over a life span. To aid this research, the National Institutes of Health should maintain a national brain tissue bank.

- The NCAA and National Federation of State High School Associations "should undertake a rigorous scientific evaluation of the effectiveness of age-appropriate techniques, rules, and playing and practice standards in reducing sports-related concussions."

- The National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense should fund research on age- and sex-related variants in risk for concussions.

- The NCAA and the National Federation of State High School Associations, in conjunction with the other groups, should develop "large-scale efforts to increase knowledge about concussions and change the culture (social norms, attitudes, and behaviors) surrounding concussions among elementary school through college-aged youth and their parents, coaches, sports officials, educators, trainers, and health care professionals.''